EMBRACING KISWAHILI AS OUR NATIONAL LANGUAGE.
Happy New Year 2024.
We start this year with gratitude to God for the success of 2023. Almost half of our members have moved up in their reading level and we are so proud of their achievements. I am encouraged by the rising number of children using our library service every month. It is evident that the children have embraced the reading culture and are having fun reading.
Our theme for 2024 is Embracing Kiswahili as our national language.
In Kenya, Kiswahili has been a challenge for most children especially as an examinable subject in school. Most children can read the language however comprehension is difficult. Sheng (Kiswahili slang) has also contributed to the distortion of the language.
I asked some of the children in the book club what were the benefits of speaking our national language and here is a summary of their responses.
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- When we learn to speak Kiswahili, we will be able to communicate with people from any part of our country.
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- When we speak Kiswahili, it gives us a sense of identity as Kenyans and also from East Africa.
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- We will also perform well in our exam when we read and understand Kiswahili.
Our goal this year is to embrace and nurture the Kiswahili language.
We will do this by encouraging the children to communicate in Kiswahili during our book club meetings as well as selecting more Kiswahili books for them to read. I believe this will help in boosting their confidence in the language.
Nina imani kuwa watoto wetu watajitahidi ili waweze kusoma na kuelewa lugha yetu ya taifa.
Nawatakia kila laheri mwaka huu wa 2024.
Mungu awabariki.
Monica Nyambura – Mwanzilishi
January 2024